Thread by @thedaughter17

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does a better job at protecting children from harmful material than Texas Public Schools.

Read this 🧵to understand how the FCC informs the issue of #BookBans (book boundaries) and how to use it in legislation and argument. @teainfo

Fundamentally, this is not a parental rights in education issue. It is a PROTECT KIDS FROM HARMFUL CONTENT issue & the state has a compelling interest to do so.

Parents have the best, natural instinct to protect their kids & they are sounding the alarms!

Currently, children are safer tuning into television and radio airwaves than perusing their school libraries.

This needs to change & we should use the guidance of the FCC to inform our legislation & our arguments.

We can also use this now, locally

What the FCC recognizes--that the Texas Education Agency has failed to in its own recommended local policy--is that children are harmed by content that is indecent and profane, even when it doesn't meet the most extreme definition of obscenity. @teainfo

The FCC recognizes that children should be protected from Indecent Content and Profane Content, not just Obscene Content.

It is a crime to distribute Obscene Content to minors.

Texas Penal Code 43.24

The FCC regulates the airwaves for obscene content, indecent content, & profane content during the hours of 6 a.m. & 10 p.m.

Why? Because of a reasonable assumption that children MIGHT BE present.

TX school libraries are filled with books that meet the definition of indecent content & profane content--despite the fact that WE KNOW children are present.

The FCC recognizes this to be harmful to children--so why are our Texas schools allowing it?

@GregAbbott_TX @MikeMorath

Many argue First Amendment. Well, the laws that allow for regulation of content on our airwaves have been in place since the 1930s & have withstood the challenges. There is much case law to cite.

We also know that books can be removed for pervasively vulgar content. (Pico)

There are big consequences when these FCC regulations are ignored. This is why the movie and music industries self-regulate, using explicit content warnings and rating systems.

Currently, there are no consequences for distributing similar expressive materials in schools.

It is not a child's right to access this material in their schools. It is not a violation of free speech to implement standards that protect children from obscene, indecent, or profane content in their schools or public libraries.

The FCC has very clear definitions of what obscene content, indecent content, and profane content is.

We should use these to help inform local and state policy, and I will provide the definitions below...

The penal code definition of obscene: it must appeal to an average person's prurient interest; depict or describe sexual conduct in a "patently offensive" way; &, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

This is penal code.

FCC regulatory definitions: Indecent content portrays sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently offensive but does not meet the three-prong test for obscenity.

Profane content includes "grossly offensive" language that is considered a public nuisance.

Again, Indecent Content and Profane Content is not allowed on the airwaves during the hours of 6 am and 10 pm when it is a reasonable risk that children might be present.

This IS NOT a violation of Free Speech. The state has a compelling interest to protect kids from harm.

A good way to know if the book in question breaks FCC standards related to obscenity, indecent content or profane content--try to read them aloud at school boards where they are being broadcasted.

In seconds your mic will be cut off--they know it violates FCC standards.

The TEA only advises that schools protect kids from the most extreme obscene content, which would violate the penal code & be considered criminal to distribute. This is in its recommended EF local policy, which many school districts have adopted.

This policy is a failure.

The @TexasGOP is committed to supporting and driving policy that protects kids from sexualization in our schools.

Please read the🧵in its entirety and reach out if you have questions on the work our sub-committee is doing to ensure the best legislation is passed this session.